Litigation Updates

There were few important judgments published fortnight while I was on hiatus. Now I am back & will provide the summary of those judgments in due course of time. But for time being here are those in case you missed. Keep reading!!

Asenapine - USA

On Nov 15, 2018, Delaware court found Sigmapharma’s ANDA infringes claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 5,763,476 which covers Saphris®. Court held that Sigmapharm’s accused product disintegrates within 30 seconds in water at 37°C. Forest has proven that 6/6 tablets disintegrated within 30 seconds for at least one run each from representative batches.

Naproxen & Esomeprazole - USA

On Nov 19, 2018, New Jersey court found claims covering Vimovo® invalid as indefinite in summary judgment proceeding. Court held that claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,220,698 and 9,393,208 are indefinite because of the claim term ‘target’. Specifically it is not possible to comprehend what these phrases mean, because pills cannot be said to set goals or have targets.

Buprenorphine & Naloxone (Suboxone®) - USA

On Nov 20, 2018, Federal Circuit vacated preliminary injunction granted by district court which was on erroneous interpretation of claim scope of US 9,931,305. Court held that the ’305 claims are patentably indistinct from the ’514 claims (decided previously) and that claim preclusion is likely to apply. As a result, Indivior has not shown that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its infringement claim against Dr Reddy’s.

Methylphenidate (Quillivant XR®) – USA

On Nov 20, 2018, Federal Circuit vacated invalidity decision of Delaware court as it was based on inadequate fact-findings. Patents-in-suit were U.S. Patent Nos. 8,465,765 (’765 patent), 8,563,033 (’033 patent), 8,778,390 (’390 patent), 8,956,649 (’649 patent), and 9,040,083 (’083 patent).

Fulvestrant – Netherlands

On Nov 27, 2018, The Court of Appeal confirmed the validity of AstraZeneca’s patent and vacated the first instance decision.